Durian

Durian

Has anybody else tried this tropical fruit? I first encountered it in Thailand a few years ago. It tastes sort of mango-strawberry-kiwi, but smells like Shaq's armpit after a big game. The smell is so bad that airlines in southeast asia forbid people from carrying it on-board.

Yeah, the Asian supermarket near my house carries frozen durian (it's less funky, and of course it keeps longer on the trip from the tropics) and one of the stalls in the attached food court occasionally has durian custard or jelly. I even had a durian smoothie once!

It's funky, yes, but frankly, so many of the things you buy in an Asian supermarket are, erm, uniquely scented, that I barely notice.

I have never had an encounter with a delicious durian. The durian I have tasted is more akin to rotting onion custard. Admittedly, I have not had fresh durian in Southeast Asia, so I have not really had the "real thing." A few years ago my brother bought me some artificially flavored durian creme cookies. The real stuff is bad enough, but artificial durian flavor takes it to new heights!